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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24070546">Sometimes Safety is the Opposite of Saving.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/theatergirl06/pseuds/theatergirl06'>theatergirl06</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Six - Marlow/Moss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, and the executioners are back, but only for a bit!, don't worry!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 19:55:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,937</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24070546</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/theatergirl06/pseuds/theatergirl06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Anna of Cleves, Anne Boleyn, and Katherine Howard set out for a fun weekend afternoon. But with their luck, nothing ever goes as planned.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anne Boleyn &amp; Anne of Cleves, Anne Boleyn &amp; Katherine Howard, Anne of Cleves/Katherine Howard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>56</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sometimes Safety is the Opposite of Saving.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>TWs: Physical fighting, injuries, swearing.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Anna of Cleves, Anne Boleyn, and Katherine Howard were well known around the queen’s apartment for being the trio that brought chaos. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anne loved to do experiments, try out quirky and new ideas with weird materials. They were always fun for whoever was involved, and they very nearly ended in disaster. Anne was usually willing to take responsibility for the crazy messes she made, but not before she’d gotten her best friend and her best friend’s girlfriend, who was also her cousin, tangled up in her craziness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometimes, however, Anne’s spontaneity could be a very, very good thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Such was the case one sunny May weekend after a particularly harrowing week of shows. Pretty much every queen had had a run-in that week with some angry fan, some interviewer out to get them, some body shaming jerk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In short, none of them were in the mood to even go and get the mail by the time the weekend rolled around. The apartment was overflowing with six irritated, lazy, exhausted, grumpy queens. There was bickering and pranks and lots and lots of spilled coffee.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By Sunday, every single queen needed to get out of the apartment, or at least some of them needed to get out of the apartment so that the rest could have a little space to breathe. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So when Anne spotted a flier for a travelling carnival a little ways outside the city, she knew she needed to take her two best friends. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So, after some convincing, Catherine handed the beheaded queen the car keys and set off for the park with Jane, leaving Cathy contentedly working on a historical fiction in her room with the curtains pulled shut and guitar music playing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, the second, fourth, and fifth queens were on the road to the carnival, with Anna driving and Anne and Kat singing along to Disney music at the top of their lungs. Anne would’ve driven except for the fact that she and Kat were both easily distracted. So Anna drove. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>It took about an hour before they arrived at the carnival, but it was absolutely wonderful once they did. The tents, full of food and fun and prizes, stretched on for what seemed to be miles and miles. Anne bounced eagerly out of the car, practically squealing with excitement. The second she was joined by her cousin, they both went from practically squealing to actually squealing. It would have annoyed Anna had it been anyone else, but the sight of her two best friends so happy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kat grabbed Anna’s hand and began running towards the rollercoaster, pulling her right along behind her. Anne had disappeared somewhere into the crowd instantly, but that was normal. The second wife had a taste for carnival food, so she’d probably headed right to the food trucks. It was all right, though. Anna and Kat would ride the rollercoaster many, many times, and when they finished, Anne would probably be perched somewhere nearby with a paper boat piled so high with food that it almost went above her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anna could see it now, as they boarded the ride.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rollercoaster started. It climbed up, higher and higher until they could see the entire carnival. Kat threw her hands in the air and shouted, and Anna joyfully did the same. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hadn’t seen a rollercoaster before she’d come back, obviously, but she’d discovered them after a month or two when all of the queens had visited another carnival quite similar to this one. Anne had thought it looked cool, and Anna had been the only one who didn’t have an excuse to run in the other direction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But not only had she found she enjoyed the rollercoaster, she’d loved it. She’d loved the feeling of adventure, or excitement without strings, and at the same time, the feeling of calm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, as the rollercoaster carried her through dips, swoops, turns, and drops, she felt herself letting go of all the badness and negativity the week had built up in her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Next to her, Kat’s hair was blowing in the wind, and Anna was glad to see that she was smiling, too. She loved her girlfriend so much and she hated seeing her unhappy in any way, shape, or form. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kat hadn’t expected to like rollercoasters the first time she’d ridden them, but she’d surprised herself and everyone else when she’d found she enjoyed them just as much as Anne and Anna. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first few months after they’d come back, though, she hadn’t even tried them. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Another reason Anna loved seeing her like this so much. It was a reminder of how much she’d grown. Gone was the scared young girl of over a year ago. In her place was a young woman who had enough empathy to care for herself and everyone she loved.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anna was slowly pulled out of her thoughts as the rollercoaster came to a stop. She and Kat unbuckled the bar and walked in the general direction of the food trucks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After about thirty steps, Kat froze mid-step. She looked Anna right in the eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s Anne?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The problem shouldn’t have worried them. It was a big carnival, and she was Anne, after all. She loved to wander, to explore, to adventure, and they were at a huge carnival.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the sunny day, despite technically still being bright, suddenly seemed very dark indeed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something about this just felt eerily wrong.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without even speaking, she and Kat began walking in opposite directions, looking in every tent, every corner, every nook and cranny. They checked every ride, every bench, every food truck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nothing, nothing, and nothing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anna sighed and checked her phone. Hours had gone by, the sky was darkening, Anne wasn’t answering her phone, and Kat hadn’t found anything, either.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She plopped down on a bench, groaning. She’d just wanted a normal, fun day at the carnival. She’d gotten about five minutes of that before her best friend had gone missing and terrified her. Bad luck was an understatement at this point.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She jumped as her phone buzzed with a text from Kat.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Back of the parking lot.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Anna was already up and moving before another text came in.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I found her.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She walked even faster.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hurry.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She ran.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time she got to the back of the parking lot, her heart was completely pounding. She wasn’t usually one to get worked up over anything, but when it came to her closest friends, her emotions ruled most other things. The very thought of them being in danger...well...it was like she was dying all over again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She saw them kneeling next to a shrub. She started to sprint. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her blood ran cold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anne looked to be barely conscious, eyes wild. There was a cut on her head that Kat had pressed one of her socks onto, but she was pretty sure it was still bleeding. Besides that, she had bruises up and down her arms, and she looked as though she’d twisted her ankle as well.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anna dropped to her knees, staring at her friend. Kat was murmuring to Anne.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anne, can you count to ten for me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kat gave Anna a worried yet relieved glance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good. That’s good.” There was a pause. “Do you think you have any permanent injuries?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not unless my ankle’s broken.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anna knelt even lower and laced her fingers around Kat’s. She looked Anne right in the eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who hurt you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anne groaned as Kat slowly helped her up to sitting. “Executioners showed up. Decided to give me a run for my money. Beat me up pretty bad, but I managed to get here before I fell asleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You lost consciousness. That’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>a good thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kat, really, I’m fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anna felt tremors of anger running through her veins. This was her </span>
  <em>
    <span>best friend. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Her best friend who had wanted to have a nice day after the shittiest week ever. And these </span>
  <em>
    <span>people </span>
  </em>
  <span>had taken that away from her. They’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurt </span>
  </em>
  <span>her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were not going to get away with it. Not while Anna was around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned on her heel and set off back towards the carnival. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kat running after her, supporting a limping Anne on her shoulders, which was proving difficult due to her much shorter height. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anna, wait!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are you going?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anna whirled around. “These people are still here. I’m not going to let them hurt you again.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anna, listen to me. We can deal with this later. Anne’s hurt, we’re both exhausted. They won’t hurt anyone but us. Let’s just go home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anna sighed. “Listen, you can go home. But Anne is barely standing, and if these people do the same thing to you, or...or worse, I...I won’t be able to live with myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And with that, she turned and sprinted back into the dark, rapidly emptying fairgrounds. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was only until she was deep in the middle of the tents that she realized a dark, empty fairground was a lot like a horror movie.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a crackling sound behind her. She whirled around, raising her arms in self-defense.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, a heavy form flew out of nowhere and knocked her to the ground, banging her head on the pavement. Spots danced in her vision. She felt blood in her hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In retrospect, racing into a dark fairground crawling with people trying to murder her had probably not been a good idea. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She threw her legs into the air, pushing the dark figures off of her and taking the second to scramble back to her feet. She threw a punch at the dark mass, and it reeled backwards in pain, springing back forward and knocking it’s fist right into her stomach. She doubled over, gasping for air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a second, the entire ferris wheel, just inches away from her, lit up. Her opponent flung his hands over his eyes. She glanced up and she saw Anne sitting in the ferris wheel control box. She looked to the right and saw Kat standing next to one of the tents, ready to support Anne as they ran. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anna blindly flung one last punch at her attacker, then sprinted towards Kat, who tossed her the car keys, yelling “Don’t drive! You’ve hit your head!” as Anne raced towards her and latched her arm onto hers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three queens sprinted away from the fairgrounds as fast as they could. They got in the car and Kat took the wheel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They drove away. And they didn’t look back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lying in the back of the car with Anne, Anna propped her head up on her arms. Kat glanced back at her from the driver’s seat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doesn’t this feel...unfinished to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kat smiled. “Honestly not. We escaped. We’re gonna be okay. That’s all that matters.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anne gave Anna a grin from across the seat. “I get it, Cleves. We didn’t win because we sucked at fighting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kat rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so negative!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anna sighed, leaning against the window. “Yeah, Anne, that’s what I felt like. But we didn’t lose either. There are always gonna be Executioners out there. But we stay alive. We help each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s what matters.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a moment of silence between them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, all I meant was that I never got any cotton candy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you got hit on the head, Anne!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Laughter filled the car. Anna smiled. Kat caught her eye and smiled back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With their headlights glowing like miniature stars, the three best friends drove into the night. </span>
</p>
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